Incredible clear waters of Alor Island.

Tourism is one of the up-and-coming industries on Alor Island, mainly due to scuba diving and snorkelling at the apparent waters and rich marine life. However, there is only one main hotel in Kalabahi: the two-star Pulo Alor Island. That is it, and I am not kidding.

Other accommodations include a few locally operated beach lodges and homestays. Divers who visit here usually opt for live-on-board boats for scuba diving. There are no proper restaurants, cafes, or modern retail shops, and everything is still raw and untouched here.

So why should you make Alor your next scuba diving destination? Simply because of the non-commercialization, these places take you to a place you have never experienced. People are not spoiled by modernization, and this is one of the best factors to visit here.

Some of the accommodations seen on the smaller islands of Alor.

There are probably only five dive operators on the entire island, all located in the town of Kalabahi. One of the reputable operators here is Donovan of Dive Alor Dive, who has 25 years of experience diving into these waters and their surroundings.The great news is that there are over 63 dive sites at Alor Island, suited for experienced divers and those with advanced open water certification. Each site provides unique experiences, and the main highlight is the incredible clarity or visibility at all these sites.

One of the Alor Island dive sites with incredible visibility.

The main reason for this is that the place is not commercialized. Any dive site you visit will be only for your group. This is not like diving at Komodo Island, where it has become a major tourist attraction.

Alor Island is still considered one of Indonesia’s undiscovered dive destinations and a very raw place. Things are still as they were 50 years ago, and development here is one of the slowest. Honestly, I like this place because of this.

For anyone planning to dive at Alor, I suggest you come with a small group, as the costs are cheaper when you are in a group. Please read about my Alor dive trip report from my visit here in September 2017.

Dive Operators in Alor Island

1. Dive Alor Dive
2. Alor Divers
3. Alor Diving Kepa
4. Alami Dive Alor
5. Air Dive Alor

*Double check as some operators may have seized operations after Covid-19.

Bandar Udara Mali-Alor, the main airport on Alor Island.

How to get to Alor Island?

Generally, I would recommend you fly from Kupang to Flores, which is a one-hour flight, and this is the best and fastest way to get here. I took the local flights from Kupang to Alor for my visit here.Alternatively, some ferries operate from Kupang and other smaller ports around East Nusa Tenggara, but this can be tricky or take longer. There are private boats that operate from Kupang to Alor, but the journey can take hours.

If you are going backpacking, you really need to do your homework, as not many people speak English. I strongly recommend that you make arrangements with your dive operator so that they can have everything pre-arranged for you when you arrive.

The Abui tribe of Takpala Village on Alor Island.

What else can you do on Alor Island? 

While diving is the main itinerary here, there are several other things that you can do on Alor Island, which are pretty general. In most cases, you will either stay at a homestay, Pulo Alor Hotel or on the live-on-board boats.I would recommend visiting the local town and markets with a guide and sampling some of the local Alornese food. One of them is betel nut chewing, which is absolutely out of this world. This should always be done with a local guide, too.

You should also make it a point to explore Takpala Village, a traditional Alornese ethnic village. The village is open for tourism, and your travel or dive operator usually arranges trips here, which a local guide must visit.

Pulo Alor Hotel, the best and only hotel on Alor Island when I visited.

Conclusion

For seasoned scuba divers, if you are planning to visit Komodo to dive, I recommend you consider adding Alor Island as your next scuba diving destination. You have already made your way to this part of Indonesia, and Alor is just the next island east of Flores.

It is undiscovered, offering divers a whole new world of underwater adventures. Again, after doing some scuba diving at Alor Island, Komodo seems like another Bali.